In 1992, Jeff Hawking founded Palm. Palm's first PDA was the Zoomer in 1993, Palm then began making Windows Mobile smartphones and PDAs. In 2008, Palm announced their own WebOS operating system for their smartphones. In 2010, HP purchased Palm for $1.2 billion and still releases smartphones and now tablets running WebOS. Read on for the latest Palm news, reviews and videos:

When HP dumped the TouchPad in spectacular fashion with a bargain-basement firesale last fall, hobbyists flocked to eBay, Amazon, and Best Buy to snag their piece of heavily-discounted tablet hardware. Some of these buyers were just looking for a cheap tablet; others were webOS fans hoping to stock up on some long-term backups for their favorite platform; and still others had a different dream. They wanted a cheap but well-specced tablet on which to run Android. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the CyanogenMod Team, that dream has finally been willed into reality. And while there are a ...

Jon Rubinstein left Apple to take over Palm and after HP's acquisition of the company he was on board with Hewlett-Packard. He left the company after completing his commitment to stay 12-to 24-months. "Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well", said HP's Mylene Mangalindan. "I am going to take a well-deserved break after four and a half years of developing webOS", Rubinstein said. He worked hard on the iPod team over at Apple until he joined Roger McNamee in 2006 as the two created Elevation Partners. Jon Rubinstein became CEO of Palm in 2009 replacing Ed Colligan, where he ...

$1.2 billion was the amount HP spent on acquiring Palm, together with webOS, back in April 2010 and allegedly it's the same amount the company asked for when it tried to sell before killing webOS and turning it open source. According to Paul Mercer, former senior director of software at Palm, there was little hope for webOS from the very beginning. "Palm was ahead of its time in trying to build a phone software platform using Web technology, and we just weren't able to execute such an ambitious and breakthrough design", he added, before saying that "perhaps it never could have been ...

HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion at the end of April 2010 and it apparently tried to sell for the exact same amount, before making webOS open source. According to recent reports HP didn't want to lose anything from the Palm deal but officials declined to comment. The fact is that Palm's value was decreasing fast despite new products like the Pre3, Veer and Touchpad, making it simply impossible to sell at the same price. $500 million would have made it more likely to sell according to reports, but HP wasn't allegedly willing to go that low. At one point, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckenberg was ...

Despite what HP has done to webOS in the past month, those of you out there rocking an HP Pre3 will be lucky to find out that there is an update rolling out to your devices over-the-air. The new webOS 2.2.4 refresh weighs anywhere between 29MB to 9MB, depending on whether your phone is on AT&T, Verizon or in Europe. So what's in the package? A "variety of software improvements", as described by HP themselves, meaning the refresh will likely fix a couple of issues users were having; it's a general bugfix release but nonetheless welcome. Source: webOS Nation

What will HP end up doing with webOS and its Palm holdings? After announcing intents to essentially abandon the platform (excluding the possibility of its use in embedded systems, or licensing it out), there's been a lot of speculation over what would become of it. We may be about to find out, as HP is reportedly holding a meeting tonight to make up its mind about webOS. Things kicked-off about half an hour ago, and while we haven't heard of any big decisions being made just yet, CEO Meg Whitman has been quoted discussing the uncertainty HP feels over how to proceed. She cited the need for ...

This is a rather sad moment not only for (HP-)Palm fans but for those who live in our world as HP has decided to close Palm stores for good. They will not open anymore. The decision came after HP pulled the plug on webOS and now the company stores are displaying the above sign (and some more at the source link). The closing day was marked by insanely cheap and deep discounted prices for devices and accessories which went as low as $50 for the HP Veer, $25 for Pixi units or even $15 if someone got four devices, and $2.50 for the Palm Touchstone. End of chapter! Source: MobileMag Via: ...

Even though we intended it to be an April's fool joke last year -- when we said Microsoft was going to buy Palm and rebrand webOS to Windows Phone 7 -- this is as close as it gets. Microsoft is offering free Windows Phone developer devices and tools for former webOS developers, after HP has pulled the plug on the mobile platform. The information comes from Microsoft's Senior Director of Windows Phone 7 development, Brandon Watson's Twitter account. With recent webOS being dumped news and the upcoming Windows Phone Mango release, Microsoft might want to take advantage of HP's move and turn ...

Today's news from HP marks what looks like the end of an era, with the company deciding to throw in the towel on webOS-based smartphones. The platform has only been around for about a couple years, starting with rumors of something called "Nova" that Palm was working on. We got a proper name for the project with Palm announcing webOS and the Palm Pre at CES 2009. By summer, Palm had launched the original Pre QWERTY slider. The Pixi gave users an option with a non-slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Early 2010 brought news of upgrades to the Palm and Pixi, both getting Plus designations as part of a ...

While the HP Pre 3 is on pre-order in Europe and shipping mid-July it should also be making its entrance on the U.S. market sometime this month. According to recent rumors though, it appears that it will not come to Sprint! According to an un-named source, the HP Pre 3 is not coming to Sprint at all and, for what it's worth, there are no planned future HP devices headed to the carrier yet. There's no information on which of the two parties took the final decision -- or whether it was a mutual consent -- but HP didn't see the sales numbers it expected from Sprint and the carrier itself made ...

Users of unlocked HP/Palm Pre 2 smartphones already received their share of webOS 2.1 at the beginning of March but those that are currently Verizon subscribers sporting the Pre 2 smartphone are just getting the refresh being pushed out to their devices. The 2.1 version of webOS to hit Verizon Pre 2 smartphones brings Exhibition (turning the Pre 2 into a clock, photo frame or agenda while docked), voice dial, support for Bluetooth keyboards, E-mail fixes, Backup changes, Security fixes and more. Check with the Updates app to see if the refresh is ready for your particular smartphone. For a ...

Hewlett Packard has applied for trademark protection on six brandings that suggest it will be expanding its family of webOS-powered TouchPad tablets. The applications, whose goods and services descriptions are both broad and identical, include: TouchPadFlex TouchPadPro TouchPadTwin TouchPadGeo TouchPad7 TouchPadGo Obviously the connotations here are pretty tantalizing: Seven-inch followup to the original 10-inch slate? (Very likely.) Keyboard-equipped model? Hinged design a la the Sony S2? Perhaps even a product with rollable or flexible display? While we'd like to believe that all these ...

The HP Palm Pre 3 for Verizon has recently passed FCC and the AT&T application tipped a webOS 2.3 feature but this time it's one more time for the Pre 3 to visit FCC. It seems like a European GSM version of the HP Pre 3 visited FCC and got certified. So there we have everything that matters covered, AT&T, Verizon and European bands all passing FCC. Now all we need is the smartphone itself but if you just can't wait for the Pre 3, take a look at the tiny Veer 4G if you're on AT&T. We've got the unboxing, hardware and software tour ready with the review coming up shortly. Source: FCC Via: ...

Now that cellphone image sensors have evolved beyond the dark days of sub-megapixel blockiness, photo quality has become an important determinant when choosing among handsets. To that end, we've collected sample shots from some upcoming models, hopefully giving you a basic idea of what to expect when you release the shutter. Of course, as we've noted before, test shots from pre-release devices often don't represent the output from shipping products: camera firmware, which plays just as important a role as sensor quality, is often tweaked right up until the last minute. In situations where ...

While HP's webOS-powered Veer has just arrived in the States, it's beefier big brother, the Pre 3, is taking its good old time. We've seen what looks like both an AT&T and a Verizon-equipped Pre 3 get their FCC certifications, but haven't heard just when the smartphone might go up for sale. HP's site for the Pre 3 says that there's "planned availability this summer", but just when and where? The first signs of upcoming Pre 3 sales have surfaced, with the German version of Amazon now accepting pre-orders for the smartphone. You can place your order now for the Pre 3, which Amazon.de says ...

We know that webOS users wanted to be able to do some editing for the documents up on Google Docs right from the web without any other applications involved and it looks like your prayers have been answered! If you are running an HP Palm smartphone with really any version of webOS -- webOS 1.4.5 confirmed -- you are now able to do the editing online, on the web, for both documents and spreadsheets. You might see some missing features (cloud printing) or some features not working as they should but the glitches will hopefully be ironed out soon. You still need to get passed the typical ...

HP's Veer 4G may be pushing the limits of how small a smartphone can get while still maintaining some degree of usability, but there's no arguing with how impressive it seems to fit a full-fledged smartphone into such a tiny package. While the Veer's form factor is going to get it a lot of attention, it will need more than looks or a gimmick to attract sales, especially with webOS hardly carrying the brand recognition of something like Windows Phone 7 or Android. A great price could end up serving as the clincher to make the smartphone's upcoming launch a success, and while the $100 AT&T ...

A new Hewlett-Packard phone has just received its FCC clearance, with the agency publishing the documentation showing the phone's compliance with testing. After examining the evidence made available through these publications, there's a good chance that we're looking at the Pre 3 as configured for a launch on Verizon Wireless. According to the FCC documents, this HP phone carries model number F30CV, one we haven't seen show up previously. Considering that the F30CN with AT&T frequency bands has already arrived at the FCC, presumably the Pre 3 on AT&T, it seems pretty clear that we're ...

It looks like the HP Veer 4G, a.k.a. Palm Veer, will be coming to AT&T -- as suspected -- in the currently-popular shade of white. So far, we've only seen Veer in all black -- in fact, this would be the first white webOS device, period, to our knowledge. Actually, like most "white" handsets these days, this one looks to be more of a two-tone; thanks to a recent interview featuring Apple's Phil Schiller and Steve Jobs, we now know that there are several challenges in building a phone with a white face, including sensors not functioning properly. Veer, with its 800MHz processor and petite ...

An HP handset that is likely to be the Palm Pre 3 has just passed through the FCC, sporting AT&T 3G capabilities and, more interestingly, reportedly running webOS 2.3 -- a version of the operating system that we've never heard of. It's important to note here that there's no direct evidence of this being the Pre 3, but with the Veer 4G having already gotten FCC approval for the same bands -- and no other known HP/Palm handsets on the horizon -- the QWERTY slider described in the application would seem to have only one likely identity. Speaking of HP/Palm, this is the first Palm handset to ...

Palm introduced the HP Veer back at the beginning of February with its cute little face, webOS 2.1, HSPA+ data, 512MB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. Just recently, Mini Coopers have been spotted promoting the HP Veer 4G with the motto "Small is the New Big". HSPA+ speeds were known since the announcement and it looks like AT&T is ready to start promoting the smartphone -- using its naming convention -- as the Veer 4G. The trend is general with other devices having 4G names (think Inspire 4G, Atrix 4G, EVO 4G, Thrill 4G, etc.) so the tiny Veer couldn't go unnoticed. Whether HSPA+ is a real 4G ...

Just how much revenue developers can expect from in-app payments - users shelling out a few extra bucks for new features in apps they've already downloaded - is an open issue at the moment. Its value may depend on how a developer choose to implement it, some offering extras that are truly "extra" and not needed for casual use, with others more along the lines of in-app unlocks taking the place of separate paid versions. After Apple paved the way, RIM announced its intention to join in on the action, with Android just catching up this spring. Now HP will be the latest to offer the ...

We're a sucker for seeing phones run operating systems they were never intended to, whether that's an HTC HD7 that appears to be running Android, or an HD2 running... well, pretty much anything. The latest device to get the frankenphone treatment is an unlikely candidate, but sure enough, it looks like the Palm Pre has been configured for dual-boot with Android. After copying over the necessary Android files to your Pre (consisting of a no-frills stock build of Android), and running the install script, your Palm Pre will be ready to start playing around with Android. Obviously, this is ...

We didn't hear much about the HP Veer since the manufacturer has announced it back at the beginning of February and we somehow missed it cute little form factor. According to the latest buzz, HP is planning a launch event for May 2 and the Veer is the first one invited. There's a page inviting people to a May 2 Los Angeles HP Veer Launch party and it's safe to assume that we can now replace the "coming soon" label with a "coming very soon" one. The May 2 event appears to be a business-to-business one but the May 12 event hosted by AT&T -- a webOS 3.0 developer webcast -- might be ...